School Science Fair Projects

Today’s kids are tomorrow’s Scientists. That’s why Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories (MBL) has been helping kids with their School Science Fair projects. At MBL, we find a lot of fun working with bugs so small that only with the help of a microscope that we can see them. While some of these tiny bugs are harmless, some can cause serious diseases to us and our beloved pets. These tiny bugs are called microorganisms. The study of microorganisms is called microbiology. Scientists who study microbiology are called microbiologists. Microorganisms are very tiny. To see them we have to use a microscope.

Microorganisms are all around us, with an amazing diversity of adaptations. Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere where there is a liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the Earth’s crust.

Microscope

Some microorganisms (pathogenic microbes) are harmful and make people, animals, and plants sick, or even cause death. But others make people well and kill the bacteria on plants that make them sick. Drug companies that make medicines use hundreds of different microorganisms to make medicines that will help cure diseases. Human waste products are broken down into safer particles by some microorganism. Scientists are always looking for new ways to use microbes, for example in biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage preparation, and in modern technologies based on genetic engineering.

School Science Fair Projects

Fungal Colonies

Some examples of the projects we have assisted some kids with include:

1. Assessing the cleanliness of ATM machine keypads

2. Assessing the effectiveness of various hand sanitizers in killing bacteria

3. Determining the types of viable airborne mold spores in a house

4. Assessing the effectiveness of dog saliva on killing bacteria.

Let’s List Your Project Here!!!

If you conducted an interesting school project and you would like to share it with others, please send it to us and we’ll list it here for other kids to learn something from your experiment. If you would like us to help you with your school project, please send us an email or give us a call. Since we’re a private laboratory we charge a small fee for our time, equipment and laboratory supplies.

Microbiology Is Fun!

We have created funny looking cartoons to represent some microorganisms that you may already know or have heard about. We have divided these micro-organisms into three categories; Fungi (yeasts and molds), Bacteria and Viruses. Strictly speaking viruses are not microorganisms. Click the links below to see the cartoons.

Fungi

Candida sp: Candida is a yeast. Many species are harmless but some species can cause disease

Salmonella food poisoning has been a growing concern in recent news. It has frequently lead to recalls of beef, salads and organic products and, even peanut butter products. Salmonella food poisoning occurs when one eats raw or undercooked foods such meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. Properly cooked food can get contaminated with Salmonella if […]

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram negative, aerobic bacteria that is characterized as an opportunistic pathogen. It is the cause of Legionnaires’ Disease, a severe form of pneumonia and, it is the cause of Pontiac fever, a non-pneumonic form of L. pneumophila infection. Legionella spp.’s mode of transmission is through aerosols or aspiration of contaminated water. The Public Health […]

The mold (or mould, in the Queen’s English) has been the victim of a bad press. Mention the word and it conjures up an image of something rotting or in the process of decomposition. And yet, were it not for the mold that inspired the discovery of penicillin millions of lives would have been lost. […]